College Career

Ed Too Tall Jones

He signed with Tennessee State University to play basketball, but left the team after two seasons, to concentrate on playing football under head coach John Merritt.

The 6’9″ Jones received his famous nickname during his first football practice, after a teammate mentioned that his pants didn’t fit, because he was “too tall to play football”. In his new sport, he became a two-time All-American defensive lineman, playing on a team that only lost 2 games, en route to winning the black college football national championship in 1971 and 1973.

In 1999 he was voted to the 50th Anniversary Senior Bowl All-Time Team.

NFL Career

In the 1974 NFL Draft, The Cowboys ended up drafting Jones, making him the first...